Fast 6 was the best movie I have ever seen in my entire life. Just phenomenal; I think I'm going to have a heart attack. I MUST SCREAM MY INTENSE APPROVAL TO THE WORLD. Incidentally, Fast 6 is like the mutant child of Serenity, Cars 2, and SPN S6.

May the main cast be forever my favorites (Dom and Letty reunited! Paul Walker vaguely acting! Babies!) but these two. I didn't love her until yesterday, but now they're both going to haunt my dreams:



It's been a good half hour since the credits stopped rolling and my heart is still dancing on the table--forget being anywhere near my chest.

/happy siiiIIIIiiiighaghjjhaksfjhja


And I guess while I'm on this love streak--don't get me wrong; I love SPN. And I love it best when it's being wretched and depressing and not admirable at all. It's been eight years and if the Winchesters tried to be what the Fast cast is, I'd never believe them. Sam and Dean will never be...that again, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Doesn't mean I don't miss it.

• Wed, 23:57: RT @AnneRiceAuthor: Great words from Pope Francis. This pope is truly changing the tone in Rome and perhaps he can change the tone... http:…
• Thu, 02:16: RT @Fact: In the 1950’s, people laughed an average of 18 minutes a day - Currently, we laugh an average of 4-6 minutes a day.
• Thu, 03:00: Oh, you sneaky IRS folks. http://t.co/SDwB2Av858
• Thu, 03:37: Telling the truth - I’m nearing the end of a novelette currently and I’m terrified. Not only will this... http://t.co/Z2AtQRSBik
• Thu, 03:52: RT @msnbc: How is the Obama administration handling the Oklahoma tragedy? http://t.co/y9BxD1Tc33
• Thu, 03:53: Republicans: Tripping over themselves right now on how to pin all these natural disasters on their own president.
• Thu, 03:54: RT @WSJ: iPhone users have paid nearly $6B to fix broken iPhones since 2007, according to one study. http://t.co/LLrfNMezMe
• Thu, 04:14: The Writer's Poison http://t.co/v7IX2PZrPF via @HuffPostBooks
• Thu, 05:23: "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." - Buddha http://t.co/3dLBtodetk
• Thu, 05:40: Dominique Venner Suicide: French Far Right Reacts To Essayist's Death Inside Notre Dame Cathedral http://t.co/T54LUVSUTE via @HuffPostRelig

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Seeing FAST 6 tonight! I love these movies so much I want to cry. You can't tell me none of you share my sentiments, can you? Can you? Can you?

A - Age: 87 is my nearest guess, I'm not even kidding.
B - Bed size: The top portion of a twin bunkbed. (I liked, I'm not 87, I am 9.)
C - Chore you hate: Putting goddamn Tupperware back into the cabinet.
D - Dog's name: Lily. She's actually my sister's dog, and so does not live with me. :(
E - Essential start to your day item(s): My morning needs are inconsistent.
F - Favorite color: Red.
G - Gold or Silver: Aluminum (unibody!).
H - Height: 5'3"
I - Instruments you play: Piano.
J - Job title: Research Assistant.
K - Kisses or hugs: Hugs.
L - Living arrangements: Sharing a townhouse with my three amazing roommates; come August, my own apartment (third floor of a converted three-story).
M - Mood: Fucked for the case study I'm supposed to be writing; I just reorganized the fridge, the cereals, and all of the canned goods instead.
N - Nicknames: None, consistently. Sometimes Mikachu, Mikicita, Mikicitochka, Kally.
O - Overnight hospital stays other than birth: I think I was sick once as an infant. Otherwise, once when this Chuck Palahniuk story happened to my sister, minus the swimming pool part. I take your fiction and raise you one, sir.
P - Pet Peeves: Texting when you're out with other people. Texting when you're in with other people. Texting when you're watching things with other people. Texting when you're at a talk/presentation/performance. Tardiness. People who won't goddamn nut up and get their shit together.
Q - Quote from a movie: "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free." -- VIN DIESEL IN THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS.
R - Right or left handed: Left! Left-footed, as well. Right-eyed for archery, and apparently right-bodied for aerial silks, too.
S - Siblings: Two younger sisters, one younger brother.
T - Time you wake up: Variable. Never late.
U - Underwear: Those Target value packs?
V - Vegetable you dislike: Collard greens, bittermelon.
W - Ways you run late: GDAF.
X - X-rays you've had: The usual dental ones.
Y - Yummy food you make: This month, crunchy-crust artisan bread rolls. Avocado curry. Korean barbecue (and the tofu version). Oatmeal-cranberry-whole wheat pancakes. Whole wheat roaster garlic rosemary bread. Lime hummus. Grilled lemongrass chicken. On Friday I want to make spinach black bean quesadillas. :D
Z - Zoo favorite: Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I'm up to 8x23--I'm saving it for now. More S8 notes and replies later. This week belongs to someone else:



Fast 6 releases this Friday, and I'm going to see it tomorrow night. I don't see a lot of movies in theatres, and when I do it's usually more of a social thing than an "I actually want to see this movie!" thing. (I saw Oz with vie_dangerouse and Twilight 4 with shaitanah, to give you an idea! :P)

I have not been this excited for something--anything!--in I don't know how long. Because I love this series with all my heart. The energy, the craziness, the wholly unabashed love and zeal that just makes everything more.

This is it, man; ride or die.

♥

It's seldom that a particular candidate getting endorsed by someone is going to make me all that much more in support of, or more opposed to that candidate.  In the case of Pittsburgh's current race for mayor, I've become thoroughly opposed to the notion of letting Jack Wagner get elected, at least partly because he's gotten not only an endorsement from, but also a huge amount of campaign funding from our asinine and corrupt outgoing mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, who is currently under investigation for various levels of corruption.  And besides that negative, Jack Wagner has spent most of the past eighteen years not even in the city, but instead in various elected positions, hundreds of miles away in the state capital.  Bill Peduto, on the other hand, has spent seven distinguished years on the Pittsburgh City Council, making sense and progress with fellow council members, and asking important, pertinent questions about actions and policies of Mayor Ravenstahl.  The Democratic primary which includes these two candidates is tomorrow, Tuesday, May 21, and Councilman Peduto will be getting my vote.

LATER NOTE: As you can probably tell, my enthusiasm for Bill Peduto is not huge.  This race is one of those situations in which the candidates are not significantly different in what they say, or in their proposed policies, but the other major candidate, Jack Wagner,  seems more likely to be a major pain in the ass and is being supported by the corrupt incumbent.  Then again, if their points of view and policies really are all that different, neither has done a good job of explaining exactly how they are different. 

It's May! According to Ipsy, that means it's now time for a...

A spring fling theme, eh? Well, let's see.  I'm going to guess that there will be a floral perfume, probably a little heavy with ingredients like jasmine or gardenia.  Maybe some sort of sun protection product?  Spring makes me think of youth, which makes me think of products with a bit of shimmer or sparkle in them.  What else?  I'd hazard a guess that there would be a pink product or two, but last month the theme was Pretty in Pink and I wouldn't expect them to repeat that again so soon.  It's funny, in much of the country it's still spring but here in California, I'm already mentally geared up for summer!

OH MAN THIS IS ONE HIDEOUS BAG!  The print is rather busy for my taste, but the color combination is what really kills this for me.  Orange and blue?  Eew!  This matches absolutely nothing that I own.
But, on the plus side, that thing is stuffed darn near to bursting! That's a promising sign for the month.  What did my $10 subscription purchase for me in May?

Five exciting new products?  Even at  a quick glance, I definitely see some things that excite me.  Starting with the biggest item in the bag...

Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter: The cream smells like coconuts and has a slight shimmer.  It's really nice - thick but definitely not greasy.  I'm impressed.  A 2 oz bottle like this normally costs $7.00, so I probably would never have purchased it.  Too much cash for something that wouldn't last more than a few days.  But I'm delighted to have the chance to try it.

Zoya Nail Polish in Blu: It looks like my bottle, which is a delicate robin's egg blue, comes from Zoya's Spring 2013 collection.  I don't normally do matte pastels, but this looks nice.  I'm pleased that the company's nail polish is "formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, touluene, camphor and dibutyl phthalate free".  Not that I know what any of those chemicals are, but I know formaldehyde preserves corpses and therefore is probably twenty kinds of toxic.  A bottle of this normally costs $8.00.

Nume Finishing Serum: This is a serum to smooth frizz and add shine to your hair after it's been styled.  Sounds like it was definitely chosen based on the quizzes Ipsy gives when you initially sign up for their bags, which ask you about the kinds of makeup you like, hair type, skin type, etc.  It's never mattered too much before, but it looks like Ipsy is introducing more variety per bag (there were fifteen different products available for May) and using those quizzes to determine what you get.  Back when I was in high school, I used to use John Frieda's Frizz Ease Serum, which I think was essentially the same as this.  Cool!  I don't know how much a trial size like this would sell for, but a full sized 2oz  bottle is $29.00.

Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Pink: There was a Juice Beauty face mist in my March bag that was nice, but I think that this lip gloss is even better.  It's a pretty color that I would definitely wear, and it's a full-sized product, too!  The Juice Beauty website lists this at $15.00.

YABY Concealer Refill in Buff: This was the only "huh?" item in the bag.  The nickel-sized container of concealer seemed a bit light for my skin, and I was not impressed with the quality of the YABY eyeshadows I received in March.  I'll try this, but I doubt it'll be much good.  YABY sells these refills for $4.85.

8x18 "Freaks and Geeks" is quite possibly my favorite episode this season. From what I'd seen from fandom when it first aired I was gearing up for something boring and mostly stupid (LIKE 8x16 "Remember the Titans" :FFFFFFFF) but this was so good in so many ways. More on that when I finish out the season, maybe. I've been quarantined from the Internet because I want to avoid finale spoilers at all costs, so I need to watch as quickly as possible. XD I watched 8x16 and 8x17 on Tuesday morning; I adored 8x17 as well--there was a full segment of that episode that was actually exquisitely paced; the tension was palpable and real and just wow. SPN is never well-paced. Except apparently it can be!

My drive-by notes:

8x16 was extremely poorly executed on all fronts, sweet baby jesus.
8x18 made me question some of my core-est beliefs as a SPN fan, in good ways.
Rachel Miner will always be my favorite.
But then, Madison McLaughlin. J'adore.
Oh my god, I just had a terrifying epiphany but I lack the coherence to articulate it at this moment. I may need to add a Big Bang scene for all these feelings.

4 episodes and the finale to go...

This morning Seanie and I went up to San Francisco to visit the Asian Art Museum.  Their Terracotta Warriors exhibition, featuring ten of the famous terracotta sculptures from China, closes at the end of May, and I didn't want to miss it!  After all, I can't imagine that China allows the terracotta warriors to travel outside of the country very often.

When we arrived, I noticed two large metal sculptures of lions flanking the entrance of the museum.  That's odd, I thought to myself, I don't remember those.  It turns out that the two lions are new, installed on Monday while the museum was closed!  They are Japanese bronze sculptures, offered to the museum in 2011.  The statues themselves are probably over a hundred years old, and they're simply huge!  I don't think I've ever seen Japanese metal sculptures that size.



The museum was really crowded!  By now, I ought to know better than to rush to an exhibition in its final month of display, but I never remember to get up to the city sooner.  Alas.  It was hard to see everything in the Terracotta Warriors galleries because there were people everywhere - and since the museum allowed photography, it was even worse because you'd have people stopping to take pictures and blocking the walkways every five feet or so.

But the warriors were amazing!  Each one was obviously made from a mold, but the faces and the clothing details were always different.  On one man, you could see individual braids in his hair.  On another, each individual plate of his armor was molded.  A few of the warriors still had flakes of paint clinging to them, but for the most part they were the color of clay.  The museum had vibrant, almost garish, images of what they believe the painted warriors looked like.  Much like the marble statues of Greece and Rome, I believe that the sculptures are rather improved by the loss of their color, but I'm sure the original creators would disagree with me!



The original terracotta warriors were all arranged in a single gallery, which was so crowded that moving around was nearly impossible!  In two other galleries, other grave goods - mostly bronze vessels and bells, ceramic dishes and horse trappings - were displayed.  There were some beautiful bronze bird sculptures that were especially naturalistic.  They aren't as well known as the warriors, possibly because they were only discovered in 2001, but they were exquisite.

One curious thing I noticed was that the exhibition never referred to the Qin emperor by his name. Labels and placards all called him "First Emperor", not Qin Shi Huang or Huang-di.  I wonder why?  I overheard one of the museum associates telling a crowd that they called him "First Emperor" because his real name was too hard to pronounce, but that just seemed facetious.  I wonder if there's a political reason for why they didn't use his name?

Anyway, it was a gorgeous show.  It was so cool to see the terracotta warriors in person, and to be so close to Chinese history like that.  It made me want to hop on a plane and visit China RIGHT NOW!  But since that isn't an option right now, I'm so glad that San Francisco was the final stop for this traveling exhibition.

There were lots of awesome things in the gift shop, too.  Replica statues, ranging from a few inches tall to life-size, were all over the place.  There was a dark chocolate warrior that I was tempted to buy, but I resisted the urge to snack.  There was also a gorgeous chess set with little terracotta figures in lieu of the standard chessmen.  It wasn't too expensive, but Seanie and I decided not to get it after rationalizing that it was a silly purchase when I already owned a perfectly good wooden chess set at home.